


That First Day

by Storyteller_of_the_Forest



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Brodinsons, Family is family, Fluff, Gen, Healing, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki (Marvel) is a Good Bro, No Slash, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Thor (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Thor (Marvel) is Not Stupid, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Valkyrie is awesome, sleeping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23993674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storyteller_of_the_Forest/pseuds/Storyteller_of_the_Forest
Summary: (Takes place directly after "No Place to Hide", right after it ends)The first night home after a long journey means a good night's sleep. A short fic about the first night home.
Relationships: Loki & Thor (Marvel)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 38





	That First Day

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to be 100% honest: I was just playing around with this because I really wanted to write something gentle and sweet. Angst can be a useful narrative device, but I think with the state of the world as it is (and living through a pandemic), we could all use a little fluff.
> 
> I thought it might be nice to write a fic about that first night after the events of "No Place to Hide" (because cuddles are always adorable. I love sibling cuddles). That was a nice quiet period, short though it was.
> 
> I'm still trying to get back into a good headspace at the moment, so the occasional short fic is all I can manage right now (I still have a number of projects I need to make some progress on). I do apologize for the delay in response to your incredibly lovely comments. I promise, I'm trying. You lot are so kind to me and it really brightens my day and makes me smile. I love reading your thoughts and comments. Sending all of you the biggest virtual hug ever.
> 
> REGULAR WARNINGS
> 
> Haven't seen Infinity War and am not going to see Infinity War (the Russos are terrible human beings. I don't want to hear about them or their god awful garbage).
> 
> I don't do romantic ships, especially not between family members. If you're into that kind of thing, go elsewhere (and don't tag my work with incest ships, please).
> 
> I'm still somewhat new to writing fics. So I apologize for any mistakes, mis-characterizations, formatting errors, or just any glaring errors. Please be gentle: writing fics is literally stress relief for me.
> 
> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated. I don't own anything, obviously all characters and recognizable aspects belong to Marvel.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story and thank you for reading :)

* * *

_Loki_

Loki often slept peacefully and woke well rested. Of course, there had been that brief stretch of unpleasant dreams and insomnia when he first arrived in New Asgard, but that was a distant memory.

The night Thor returned, Loki experienced such a rush of emotions it left him exhausted but also strangely wired. They had curled up together in Loki’s large bed, as they had done when they were children and shared a room, and fallen asleep. Thor slept through the night.

Loki awoke a few times.

The thunderstorm continued outside and another rumble woke Loki up yet again. He groggily looked about the shadows of the room. Everything was quiet and peaceful, as it almost always was.

Loki turned over so that he was facing Thor. Even in the darkness of the night, he could see the god of thunder was sleeping peacefully, holding onto his brother. Loki smiled as tears welled up in his eyes. He reached over and laid his palm on Thor’s chest. There was the strong steady beat of that big giant heart. Thor sighed softly in his sleep and Loki pulled his hand back, watching the steady rise and fall of Thor’s chest. A sight he thought he would never see again.

Looking back to his brother’s face, Loki was tempted to wake Thor up just to hear him, his voice. He had missed his brother and even though he was tired, the trickster wanted to speak with the god of thunder. He didn’t care about what, he just wanted to hear Thor speak again.

For the first time in a long while, Loki felt whole. He was a sibling again, Thor’s brother. And Thor was Loki’s brother. As he always had been. Loki still had trouble believing this and feared it was only temporary (the fates had always been cruel to him), but Thor was here. It felt like Loki had been found as well. Sniffling, Loki hesitantly wrapped his arms around Thor, hugging him tightly. He didn’t know how this was possible and he really didn’t care.

Swallowing, Loki pulled back slightly, looking his brother up and down again. He caught sight of something in the dim light. Carefully pushing aside part of his brother’s loose nightshirt and conjuring up a little light, Loki looked closer and saw the scars from the infinity stones that marred his brother’s skin. The trickster felt his heart in his throat, remembering the pain Thor had experienced. He closed his eyes and shuddered. Maw had inflicted a vision upon him during the battle, one he had obviously (and sloppily) manipulated, but Loki would never forget the sound of his brother’s scream. That had been just a little too vivid to merely be illusion.

Opening his eyes again, Loki frowned when he noticed strange scars near Thor’s heart, just under the ones left from the infinity stones. They were so thin he almost didn’t see them and they were very neat, too neat to be from the battle. It was a scar from a Midgardian surgical blade. It was in a very strange location and Wakandan instruments were so advanced. They didn’t leave visible scars. Where had these wounds come from?

“I feel you have a story to tell, brother,” Loki whispered. “From the looks of it, it’s probably not a very pleasant one. But I shall listen, whenever you are ready to tell it.”

 _And if anyone harmed you, they shall rue the day they were born,_ Loki thought. He shifted around a little, making himself comfortable.

Thor muttered in his sleep and tightened his grip around Loki slightly, which made the trickster feel even safer.

Even more at home.

Loki closed his eyes. He vowed that even if this was temporary, he would enjoy it. He would savor every single minute he was granted with Thor. And he was going to fight to keep Thor here.

“Brother,” Thor said softly in his sleep. Loki grinned faintly and embraced him a little tighter.

At some point, they would have to start planning for Thor to take over leadership of New Asgard. He was going to be a spectacular leader, as he had always been destined to be. Loki would have to step aside, but the trickster didn’t mind. His brother lived. Thor was alive.

For the moment, Loki just wanted to relish in that. He just wanted to enjoy having his brother back. Thor was home.

And Loki finally was too.

_Thor_

Thor awoke shortly before dawn and the sight that greeted him was his peacefully sleeping brother. Swallowing, the god of thunder carefully reached out and brushed his fingers over Loki’s neck. Letting out a silent sigh of relief, Thor closed his eye. When he was more awake, he was going to have to ask Loki if he had any lingering hurts. Right now, he was much too tired. Feeling Loki’s arms around him, it made Thor feel safe. For the first time in a long while, he felt calmness and peace. He had become so accustomed to pain of varying degrees that he had almost forgotten what it was like to wake in warmth and comfort.

Opening his eye, Thor looked back to the trickster’s face, smiling. His brother looked so peaceful in the gray light of the rising sun. He ran his fingers through Loki’s long soft hair. Thor had his family back. His brother lived. Thor wanted to hold him for eternity, keep him safe from all harm. The god of thunder leaned forward, gently kissing Loki’s brow.

“You have changed so much over the years and yet I still recognize my brother,” Thor whispered as he continued running his fingers through Loki’s hair. “You have survived much, Loki. You have shown yourself to be a hero, the hero I always knew you were capable of being.”

Thor’s eye suddenly welled up and he looked down. “I have been lost since that day on the Statesman, brother. Lost and so alone. And now, I feel as though I am me once more.”

 _Liar,_ a cruel voice in the back of his mind said. _You know what you are. Monster. Weak. Damaged._

Holding his brother a little closer, Thor curled up and tried to think of better times. He tried to envision the life they would have now that they were reunited. Thor wanted to have hope for the future and yet there was still a lingering unease in his mind. He felt like himself again, mostly, but he also still felt…broken.

“I have survived much, brother,” Thor continued whispering, glancing to Loki’s face to make sure he still slept. “I fear I am not as unscathed as you. The ones who brought me back…”

Thor paused, his heart beating rapidly, and he shook his head. “I do not wish to speak of it. I do not remember a great deal. I will not burden you with such things.”

He looked to his still sleeping brother. Loki had always been home for him. For the first time since his forced return to life, Thor finally felt he could sleep. He closed his eye and a faint smile danced across his lips.

“Thank you for always coming back,” he murmured softly, tightening his embrace slightly.

He was home.

_Brunnhilde_

Brunnhilde pulled to a stop in front of Loki’s home, which she supposed was now the Odinsons house (or soon would be). Loki had texted her earlier that morning to let her know he was taking the rest of the week off to help Thor settle in. There were no pressing matters, things were calm and quiet, and Loki had (somehow) managed to save up an impressive amount of vacation time. Korg had agreed to take notes of any meetings and Hlin was going to email Loki daily reports to keep him up to date on the happenings in New Asgard.

 _For the god of chaos, he is surprisingly good at organization. When he wants to be, anyway,_ Brunnhilde thought as she stood out of the car. She could smell last night’s storm in the air and it was heavenly. It was a beautiful spring afternoon, sunny enough that she had put her sunglasses on. As she strode up the walkway, Brunnhilde noticed the flowers were starting to bloom. New Asgard really was a lovely place. Thor was going to be very happy here.

Sticking her key in the lock, Brunnhilde unlocked the front door and stepped inside the quiet dwelling. She closed the door behind her, kicked off her boots, and moved more into the house, debating about whether or not she should call out. She had a feeling the Odinsons were asleep and she didn’t want to disturb their rest if that was the case.

Moving to the open door of the bedroom, she smiled and leaned against the doorframe. Thor and Loki were curled up together, holding each other. Both had a look of contentment on their face. The sun cascaded upon them, a warm glow framing the two reunited brothers. Loki sighed in his sleep, his arms tightening a bit around his brother as he shifted a little. Thor remained asleep.

“Well, this needs to be immortalized,” Brunnhilde muttered to herself as she took off her sunglasses and quietly placed them on the bedside table. Taking out her cellphone, she snapped a couple pictures of the sleeping brothers. Smirking, she put her phone back in her bag, which she laid on the floor.

Yawning, Brunnhilde moved over to the bed and climbed under the covers on Thor’s other side.

“What are you doing?”

Brunnhilde raised an eyebrow and looked over Thor’s shoulder to Loki. He was watching her, mischief sparkling in his green eyes. She shrugged.

“You woke me up at an unreasonable hour and it was a long drive. I’m tired,” she replied, flopping back on the bed. It was a very comfortable mattress. Eventually, she would have to figure out where Loki had acquired it.

“No work today?” Loki asked, his voice like velvet.

“My day off. Decided to drop by to see if you two boys needed anything,” Brunnhilde responded without missing a beat. She glanced at the god of thunder, gently rubbing his shoulder. “How is he?”

“He slept peacefully through the night. I imagine he’s still exhausted,” Loki replied, his voice soft so as not to disturb his brother’s rest. “Do you know where he journeyed from?”

Brunnhilde swallowed. “Wakanda, he recovered in Wakanda.”

The previous night, Thor told her he had healed in Wakanda and spoke highly of the country and her people. “They took very good care of me when I was at my most vulnerable. I owe King T’Challa and the people of Wakanda a great debt,” Thor told her. When she asked if they had been the ones who brought him back to life, Thor’s smile fell, a look of shame briefly colored his expression, and he shook his head. His eye dropped to his feet and he wouldn’t meet her gaze again. When Brunnhilde asked who had brought him back, Thor claimed he didn’t remember and said he didn’t wish to speak of it. The Valkyrie decided to let it go for the time being. It broke her heart to see her friend in pain.

After dropping Thor off at Loki’s house, Brunnhilde called King T’Challa. They spoke at length about Thor’s condition when he’d been brought to Wakanda. The Valkyrie had been horrified to hear of the state the god of thunder had been in. Based on her own experiences, Brunnhilde worried that Thor’s healing was far from over.

“Loki, you should talk to Thor about his recovery at some point. He was in bad shape when he was brought back and there’s a chance some scars linger,” Brunnhilde mentioned. Loki shook his head, smiling softly as he looked to his brother.

“It can wait. For now, let him rest,” Loki replied. Brunnhilde smiled and laid her head on the pillow.

“He’s back, Brunnhilde, Thor is back,” Loki whispered, awe clear in his tone. For the first time in quite a while, the Valkyrie heard genuine happiness in the trickster’s voice.

“I know,” she replied as she gently brushed a hand over Thor’s hair.

Loki was right. They could speak of such matters later. Right now, the Odinsons deserved this moment of peace.

Brunnhilde threw one arm over Thor, grinning when she felt her friend’s familiar warmth. Closing her eyes, Brunnhilde allowed her mind to drift off to sleep. The three of them slept comfortably throughout the afternoon, safe in each other’s company. For the moment, all was right in the world.

**_The End_ **

**Author's Note:**

> In my mind, these three occasionally form a cuddle puddle. I love the idea that Brunnhilde occasionally just crashes on the Odinsons couch because why not. I could not get the visual of the three of them snuggling together out of my mind. That is just one of the most adorable images ever :)


End file.
